purposive communication

• Communication involves various elements including:

  • Paralinguistics (tone, pitch, pace, etc.)
  • Silence
  • Sociolinguistic: appropriate use of language within a context
  • Discourse/pragmatic: understanding beyond sentence structure
  • Strategic: compensatory strategies
• Communication effectiveness depends on:

  • Ability of sender and receiver to encode and decode the message/information
  • Similarity in codebooks between parties
  • Shared mental models about the topic’s context
  • Sender’s experience in communicating the message
• Communication is the process of transmitting and understanding information between two or more people
• The linguistic repertoire refers to the range of linguistic varieties a speaker has at their disposal and can appropriately use as a member of their speech community
• Communication elements include:

  • Sender
  • Message
  • Medium
  • Barrier
  • Receiver
  • Feedback
• Communication models:

  • Aristotelian Model of Communication: mastering the art of rhetoric for effective communication
  • Laswell’s Model: highlights the need to choose the appropriate channel for communication
  • Osgood-Schramm’s Communication Model
  • Communication Model by Wood (2006), Adler and Towne (1996)
• The Three Rhetorical Appeals:

  • Pathos (Passion/Emotion): emotional appeal
  • Logos (Logic): logical argument
  • Ethos (Ethics): credibility and trust
• Channels in communication:

  • Media richness: medium’s data carrying-capacity
  • Non-Verbal Communication:
  • Oculesics: study of eye movement and nonverbal communication
  • Haptics: technology stimulating touch and motion
  • Proxemics: space between individuals
  • Chronemics: role of time in communication
• Barriers/Noise in communication:

  • Language difference
  • Ambiguity of language
  • Information overload
  • Cross-cultural differences
• Purposive Communication is intentional communication within specific contexts, challenging the communicator to strategically use a familiar language to communicate intentions
• Factors that shape the way conversations begin:

  • Audience: a group of people whose backgrounds, concerns, and interests may shape the way a message is received
  • Context: conditions that shape the contents of the message such as significant period, or the sender’s background and experiences
  • Purpose: a concrete set of objectives or reasons for addressing a specific audience in a given context
• Ethical use of language includes:

  • Anticipating and weighing the effects of one’s message on an audience
  • Using information from credible, verifiable, and relevant sources
  • Communicating with no intent to harm others
  • Being careful, attentive, and inclusive through word choice and tone
  • Looking at differences as a way to understand each other and what matters to us
  • Never silencing, and welcoming disagreements as opportunities for knowing others in a more respectful and thoughtful manner
• Register refers to the style and degrees of formality that we use depending on our communication contexts
• Categories of Register:

  • FORMAL: more appropriate for professional writing and letters to a boss or a stranger
  • INFORMAL: also called casual or intimate, more conversational and appropriate when writing to friends and people you know very well
  • Neutral: non-emotional and sticks to facts, more appropriate for technical writing
• Communication develops and changes according to its contexts
• Body language, facial expressions, and tone contribute to conveying thoughts and emotions in a non-verbal manner
• Non-verbal elements stress and enhance what one wishes to communicate
• Functions of non-verbal elements include:

  • Asserting and/or hiding one’s identity
  • Stressing and/or dismissing the importance of an idea
  • Evoking a certain emotion or feeling
  • Demonstrating one’s attitude
  • Revealing one’s values
  • Allowing and/or controlling participation
• In multicultural contexts, special attention must be paid to what non-verbal elements may convey because they are not universal
• Non-verbal elements do not have absolute meanings
• What you wear, how you stand, and the physical distance you maintain while talking to someone are examples of how messages are communicated to others, intentionally or unintentionally
• Awareness of the significance of non-verbal elements may lead to happier trails, while ignorance may lead to regrettable detours
• Language use in terms of word choice is a significant element in making meaningful connections and fostering harmonious understanding in a community
• A word has denotative meaning (dictionary definition) and connotative meaning (based on the fluid contexts of its uses)
• The use of slang may imply a sense of belonging to a certain group with similar preferences, hobbies, or lifestyles
• Jargons are technical language used by professionals in a certain field
• Euphemisms are used to make a concept/idea more acceptable, while doublespeak is used to create a more positive tone and view towards a particular idea, potentially covering up difficult realities
• Word choice, pronunciation, and grammar rules vary in Englishes that multilinguals use around the world
• Cultural and social practices, norms, and trends shape the way languages are used
• Having an open, attentive, and respectful attitude when engaged in conversations in English leads to a more pleasant communication experience